She Came Here With Me
by one.twilight.sun
Summary: Collection of mostly unrelated drabbles and one-shots based off of fic prompts or whimsy. Featuring Katniss and Peeta with a dash of other characters as well. Feel free to leave me prompts at my tumblr - link on profile page.


It wasn't supposed to get this complicated.

It had started out in the midst of their first midterm exams. It had been late nights, early mornings at the local coffee shop, and pitiful attempts to weasel any leniency from Professor Haymitch. The gruff man told them that just because they were the only two to came from his District, didn't mean that they got to laze off. Mainly because District 12 wasn't known for churning out the best and the brightest.

With their failure with Haymitch, the two friends found themselves spending even more time together so they could get the grades needed for their next year at college. Peeta had been over in her dorm, slouched against her bed, his _Federal State, Its Decay and Rise _ book opened on his lap, head tipped down toward it. Katniss had been lying on her bed, her own English textbook opened over his shoulder.

She'd shifted and lost her hold on her book, sending it flying onto his lap. Her attempt to grab it had put her hand on his thigh and her face next to his upturned surprised one.

Katniss had been aware, growing up, that Peeta was attractive. He'd gained muscle in helping his father, the local baker, and he'd only filled out more as he'd gotten older. Peeta was also the only real friend she'd had, giving her the support she'd needed to take the scholarship offered to her at the Capitol College and move away from home and her troubled relationship with Gale.

Maybe on some level, she'd been aware of the underlying tension between them, figuring it was something that built up between all friends of the opposite sex. However, at this time, that simmering tension seemed to explode around them as his warm breath fanned across her lips.

She thought she'd made the first move (because Peeta was never the one to take advantage of a girl), but then he'd enthusiastically joined in, his textbook following to the floor as he got on his knees and steadied her head next to his. His fingers had been in her hair, her tongue in his wet mouth, and all in her head and in her heart she felt this was good, that this was right.

And then he'd pulled back and apologized and Katniss, loath to lose his warmth and the feelings in her, not even sure what those feelings were but knowing that she just couldn't have things be awkward with Peeta, had hastily thrown out that it was fine, they were friends, and that maybe they just needed this, needed to get it out of the way, out of their system. She'd seen the look in his eye, the doubt, but he'd gone along with it.

It had been a little awkward, after. But she'd made it clear to him that she still considered him her best friend and that she wasn't mad and they'd seemed to slip back into their easy friendship.

Over the next year, there were only a few more times when sex happened again. Once, Peeta had appeared at her door, drunk and muttering something about Joanna Mason and her man-hate and she'd laid him on her bed to sleep it off and they'd found each other in the night. In the morning, he'd been gone and they didn't speak about it later. Another time, Katniss found out that she'd been being led on by Finnick, that he'd had a girl back home that he didn't mention until she'd gotten her nerve up to ask this guy who'd been charming her since summer on a date. Peeta had comforted her, saying nice things about how beautiful she was and how Finnick was a jerk and she'd kissed him and kissed him until Peeta's protests had died and he'd held her tight in his arms and made her _feel _ beautiful.

Sophomore year found Katniss inundated with classes. So much that she didn't even get a chance to spend any time with her friends, let alone any other guy she might've been interested in dating. Peeta seemed understanding. She knew that he was getting just as busy with the law degree he was pursuing.

Still, she missed him. And, in the dark of the night, just before drifting off to sleep, she let herself think of him, not just as her friend, but as her sometime lover, his large hands roaming over her body, gentle despite the rough calluses on his fingertips. His mouth exploring her neck, her collarbone. She thought that maybe she should seek him out, tell him a little of what she thought she might be feeling.

So it was a punch in the gut when she made a rare foray to the coffee shop, intent on getting her hands on the most sugary, caffeine-filled drink they had, when she stepped in and saw Peeta and a delicate-looking blonde girl sitting in a spot of sunshine at a table in the corner, laughing and gazing at each other as if they were the only two people in the world.

She froze and the air disappeared around her, leaving her gasping. Something must've alerted him to a change in the atmosphere because he glanced at the door, mid sentence, and caught her staring at him. She finally unfroze, forcing herself to turn and leave.


End file.
